Alan
Alda: This is a really unusual place. And it's in support
of an unusual idea, isn't it?

Gerry
Edelman: Well, yeah, it sort of encapsulates or represents
an idea that I had, but it's not an original idea. It's an
idea that I think you can see in the early institutes in the
first part of this century. For instance, Neils Bohr's Copenhagen
Institute for Physics. Namely a small place which attracts
people who are very interested in solving deep problems, of
science, of course, in this particular case. And so the way
the institute is organized is very simply put. First of all,
it's small. Second of all, it emphasizes young people because
there is a kind of vigor required to get into that kind of
thing. But then, third of all, make sure the young people
have some old people to talk to because old people are wonderful
to tell you what not to do. They're no good for telling you
what to do.

Alan
Alda: I've noticed that, too.

"Theory is as important as experiment. This is a very
strong place for theory."

Gerry
Edelman: I notice it with my kids, too. You're not going
to listen to them when they tell you what to do, but if they
tell you a war story or two, maybe you'll be cautious. So,
we arranged that by having a visiting fellows program from
all over the world. The final concept is very important. It
is that theory is as important as experiment. Now that's a
very unusual idea in biology. While Darwin's theory is the
greatest theory of biology, most of the time you don't pay
too much attention to it in the everyday work. You pay attention
to genetics and chemistry. But, in figuring out how the brain
works, the idea that you'd do it theoretically, or that it'll
just all flop together when you get some facts, this sort
of attitude is unconscionable. So, theory is very important
here and this is a very strong place for theory. For that,
you need a computer. The computer is not, in our opinion,
a good model of the mind, but it is as the trumpet is to the
orchestra- you really need it. And so, we have very massive
simulations in computers because the problem is of course
very complex.

Alan
asks how science is like a good story

Alan
Alda: The institute may be small, but there's a wonderful
sense of space here. And it's a beautiful space. It must be
stimulating to everybody.

Gerry
Edelman: Yes, to my mind it is. I think it makes people
feel a sense of identity, a sense of unity and of aesthetic
reach, which happens to be something very important. It perhaps
isn't absolutely essential, but it sure does help.